I’ve been itching for a proper Turbo Records release since time. Finally, with Turbo 123, Turbo Records brings you former Thunderheist member, Graham Douglas Bertie, as his solo project comes to fruition under the moniker Nautiluss. His release, above picture acting as album cover, is a 4-song ep filled with pulse pounding house music that would fit perfectly during hours and after hours. The Toronto resident will be celebrating his ep release entitled αlpha at Loft 161 on Friday, May 25th. If possible, WDPK will be there. Let’s party.

Nautiluss – Mixed Numbers

I’ve always been a Simian Mobile Disco fan. Attack Sustain Decay Release is such a good album that it pains me to say that their follow-up albums are just so… meh.

Temporary Pleasure showcased the duo dabbling in the electro-pop-r&b that was part of the zeitgeist of 2009 and then they released Delicacies, which featured a select number of psychedelic dance and minimal techno chunes that were honestly not all bad. Then here we are today, almost two years since Delicacies was released and Simian Mobile Disco puts forth a long-playing record of nine, count it, nine tracks of electronic music on the borderlines of minimal techno. There are an additional two songs if you get the special edition.

At first listen I wasn’t impressed. A few more times on the iTunes needle and certain points of Unpatterns grew on me. It’s a composition of nine minimal electronic songs that aren’t catered to the modern clubber but rather an electronic music aficionado that can appreciate electronic dance music for all of its elements. Interference is straight up techno whereas Your Love Ain’t Fair harbors elements of Chicago House. For the most part, however, some of the songs are forgettable and perhaps the whole album is in it self forgettable as I see it hardly as a candidate for Electronic Album of the Year. There is, however, elements to like here – but that all depends on where you sit on the dance music spectrum. Simple. Minimal. Easy-going. Unpatterns is for you. If you’re the kind of person that demands more from your releases, memorable songs that you’ll be humming to the same effect of Hustler and It’s the Beat, you won’t find it with Unpatterns. 

3.5 out of 5

Simian Mobile Disco – Interference

Anyone have suggestions on a foolproof relationship guidebook? I could sure as hell use one right now.

Cherrelle feat. Alexander O’neal – Saturday Love

This I can’t endure, baby. Call me up, I’ll answer the phone. I want to tell you something…

Download the delicious disco number below.

Kashif – I Just Gotta Have You (Remastered 1998)

I’ve scoured the Internet for this song. Searched Google, queried Soundcloud and even messaged DJs who’ve played this song in their sets – nothing. Until a certain someone answered my request on Soundcloud. Thank you!

Marcos Cabral’s Get Get Get is something I can honestly see myself listening to for a very, very long time. The vocals are nostalgic of almost any guy’s thought when at a club and the instrumentals are absolutely Chicago. House music’s finest.

Marcos Cabral – Get Get Get

Yo whatup g?!

Support WDPK and “Like” on Facebook if you haven’t already.

WDPK needs to keep growing and it isn’t quite where I wish it would be. Help WDPK get there and spread the word. Thank ya.

Remember my blurb on Dubstep? If not, check it out here. This is the style of Dubstep I prefer…

Born Rupert Taylor, XXXY is developing a huge following from his roots in the UK underground. Currently signed on with various labels, XXXY is constantly improving. How does one say his name? Triple X Y? X, X, X, Y?(Okay, Facebook says it’s the former)

Do you dig Dubstep? Or is it still a genre that needs to mature?

XXXY – I Know This Can’t Be Love

XXXY – You Always Start It

Could Azari & III’s performance at The Hoxton be the culmination of the 4-piece Toronto quartet? Or is it just a stepping stone for greater things?

As their Toronto homecoming came to an end at 3am on Friday, April 13th, this writer definitely feels that it is the latter – a stepping stone for greater things. Their recent nomination for Electronic Album of the Year at the Juno Awards and their signing on with Island Records are huge accolades itself. But their stage performance, holy shit, it was absolutely SUPERLATIVE.

Azari & III began their performance with a prolonged version of Manhooker, which then blended with Hungry for the Power and also the vocal and dance performances of Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full. From there, they performed favourites like Reckless With Your Love, Manic, Indigo and Lost in Time. And accompanied with all these songs were Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full’s flamboyant, unrelenting vogue style and overall exciting dance performances that showed no shame or care – they were there to party for the Toronto fans. The energy and stage presence that Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full possess resonated with the crowd as everything they did or said got the crowd excited, a crowd made up of all sorts of lifestyles – a very dynamic audience to say the least. Dinamo Azari handled the drums and Alixander III handled the synthesizers and keyboards and every now and then he would take pieces of Starving Yet Full’s vocals and loop them, live, which I think was an interesting touch. The Azari & III producers mesmerized the crowd with their live electronic music prowess.

Visually, Azari & III performed in front of a projection of the performance, nothing too flashy or boring. The lighting was top notch and the outfits, though my girlfriend thinks it was too scene, Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full’s outfits were outlandish yet interesting. To each their own. Dinamo Azari rocked his regular-guy clothing while Alixander III sported a Sartorialist getup… The differences in style was just another factor that played a pivotal role in the performance. To summarize, their style onstage is just as vibrant as it is offstage.

The highpoint of the performance, for me at least, is when Azari & III dropped Indigo. Watching it live presented a new way of perceiving Indigo, which was accentuated by the dance moves and energy from the whole crowd. At the very same time, however, I realized my only gripe about the performance – the vocals overshadowed the instrumentals. I thought my ear drums would simply be paralyzed hearing Indigo live… The bass is intense. But instead instrumentals for the whole night were kind of drowned out by the vocals. Perhaps it was where I was standing or maybe the acoustics of The Hoxton, I don’t know… I just wish the instrumentals and vocals were in perfect harmony, not the vocals superseding the righteous house beats. Speaking of righteous house beats, they performed a vocal version of Adonis’ No Way Back.

Nonetheless, I put Azari & III’s performance among my Top 10 favourites EVER and I’ve seen Daft Punk. Yeah, Azari & III is up there. I think it would serve in their best interest to play in a larger venue (The Hoxton was overcrowded) the next time they headline.

So tell me what you guys think. I know I have Toronto readers and I know some of you were there last night, haha. Do you agree, was the performance brilliant? Or was it just meh? Let me know in the comments section.

“If there’s a silver lining in Azari & III’s woefully belated hometown headlining gig, it’s that Toronto fans will get a much better show than they would’ve 10 months ago.

Since their self-titled debut was released in Europe last summer (and then re-released on UK major label Island Records in January), the four-piece electronic dance group has come into its own as a live act.

During a break from recording their sophomore album, producer Alphonse Alixander Lanza III and vocalist Cedric Gasaida (aka Starving Yet Full) say the band (which also includes Christian “Azari” Farley and Fritz Helder) has come a long way since the days of cramming into the Barn’s tiny DJ booth to perform for college kids with Britney blinders on.

“Going to Europe was good because we really had to get our crew together and sort out our shit in order to be able to get on a festival stage and play,” says Lanza.

“Improvisation is a big part of our set,” adds Gasaida. “It’s like we start having a silent dialogue about what we can do with each other.”

The turning point was a hedonistic concert at London’s XYO club last August. Everything seemed to come together after that. Now they can pack 1,000-capacity venues in Amsterdam and Berlin and count among their fans everyone “from hipsters to geeky weird guys who throw an Azari shirt overtop their business shirt and get pissed on pints,” says Lanza.

Despite their success overseas, they still feel like music industry transients. There are signs, though, that North Americans are coming around. They were nominated in the best electronic album category at this year’s Junos (the only nominee whose album you can’t buy on iTunes) and were warmly received by the industry at the Ottawa ceremony. They’re hoping to announce a North American deal this fall.

“We’ve grown into more of a monster,” Lanza says when asked about the direction of the next record. “We have this big, throbbing Metallica sound. The entity is now bigger than all of us. Before, it was a little more cozy; this one is thundering, spacious and cerebral. It’s an assault on the mind and body.

“We’re chasing the dragon further down.””

Source: NOW Magazine

I’m trying to study for my final academic exam… EVER. I will be done post-secondary education soon and it freaking feels great!

While I’m trying to cram my head trivial facts about English history, the girlface is playing Journey, this rad Playstation 3 exclusive where you travel from point A to B with a companion and encounter a world of beauty and intrigue. The soundtrack is totally motivating me to study harder. Anyways, do check it out if you’re a Playstation 3 owner.

But you’re here for music, not to hear me rant about my life. So take Marc Houle’s Undercover and prepare your fists for some pumping. March Houle needs no introduction – he churns delicious tech house like no other.

Marc Houle – Undercover